[Fanfiction] - How to leave the closet, {Part 10}
Arthur wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but certainly not that.
"Hey babe, care for a ride?" He was staring at the red sports car Alfred had just pulled up in. Stars and stripes crossing the sides. It surprised him - Alfred hadn't seemed to be the patriotic type. Was this some kind of joke? Alfred seemed to get uneasy, as Arthur didn't move an inch. He stretched his neck, trying to get a better look of the other through the opened door. "Hey? Coming?"
"Uh, yeah, sure…" Arthur tried to smile, but it was as fake as the red colour of a soda. He got in on the front seat next to Alfred, closing the door behind. Seats with leopard print. The radio was playing some kind of hip-hop music. Alfred was wearing dark sunglasses. He peeled them off and sent Arthur a wondering smile.
"What's up? You seem nervous?"
"What's with the stars and stripes?" he asked, gesturing out of the window with his thump. Alfred shrugged his shoulders.
"I just like 'em."
"Why leopard seats?"
"I like 'em too?"
"Your car is screaming for attention, you know." Alfred couldn't help but snicker.
"Yeah, I love attention."
"But I don't like it. I don't like being looked at. I don't."
"It's not like people stop and stare and point fingers," Alfred mumbled to his defence. Arthur sighed and closed his belt.
"Still. They might. You never know."
"You worry too much," Alfred sighed, pressing a short kiss to his cheek, "let's just have some fun, yeah? What have you got planned?"
"I was thinking of 'The Japanese Garden', know that one?" Alfred nodded and pushed the sunglasses back on.
"Yeah, my friend runs that place." Arthur's right eye twitched.
"…he's gay, right?"
"Yeah?"
"The world's so small…" Arthur sunk back down into the seat. Alfred started driving. The radio went 'hey ho Rick, I wanna suck your-'. Arthur turned it off.
The whole world had turned gay on him within a few days. That or he'd been completely blind up until now. He'd dined at 'The Japanese Garden' a few times, seen the owner, but he'd never expected him to be gay. And Feliciano the other day, with him he'd thought it was all just a silly rumour. But he was apparently gay too. It made him wonder; how many people had he met during his life, shaken hands with them without knowing of their sexuality? If the statistics were true, he should've come across quite a few lesbians and gays.
But the second that thought hit him, it was quickly followed by another, asking him if it mattered? Those people could be doing anything when in bed with their partner. Or partners, in plural. They could be into roleplaying, leather, high-heels, hairy backs or rainbow-coloured eyes. And it didn't really matter. It shouldn't matter.
'Holy -! I think I've just learned a new life-lesson. This should be a great moment. I should tell somebody. I should tell Alfred!'
Arthur turned, got the "Alfred-" across his lips, but he got distracted. A paper-note was hanging from Alfred's blue jacket. He reached out and grabbed it to rip it off, as it then occurred stuck. He turned it to see a couple of numbers ('Oh, it's a price tag…'). He leaned in to read it.
"…Alfred…"
"Yeah?"
"Have you just bought this suit?"
"Yeah," he smiled, sending him a happy look from the corner of his eyes, "like it? I thought blue would suit me. Get it? A blue suit would suit me."
"I got it, but - are you mad?!" Arthur gave Alfred's arm a hard yank, making him grunt in slight pain.
"Hey, I'm driving! What the hell?"
"The price tag!"
"Just remove it, okay?"
"It's not the fact it's there - it's what's on it!"
"What?" Arthur ripped the tag free from his jacket, showing it to him.
"It says 1500$, you git!"
"So?"
"That's the price for a vacation in Spain, not a suit!" Arthur threw another look at the price. He couldn't believe the other-! "You're way to wealthy if you can spend your money just like that…" Alfred rolled his eyes.
"Well, sorry for trying to make an impression on you." Arthur squeezed the tag in his hands, sending Alfred a contemplated look.
"What?" The other was looking flustered. He was trying to push the sunglasses even closer to his face in order to hide his eyes, but Arthur could see how his pupils were shaking a little.
"I tried to make a good impression on you, okay? You're into grown men with ties and an understanding of politics and the like, right? So I thought: if I get this fancy suit, he may not just think if me as a crazy youngster. But apparently I failed," Alfred reached out and ripped the crumbled price-tag from Arthur's hand, threw it somewhere in the back of the car, "now you think of me as a crazy, money-spending youngster. Nice one."
"I never said that…" Arthur mumbled, but he felt bad. Really, really bad. Had Alfred really had those thoughts? Been worried, thinking of him and the date? Who wouldn't be flattered! "Alfred," Arthur tried, placing a hand calming on his knee. Alfred's eyes shortly flickered between the hand and the road, but he tried to keep his face stern. Angered. "Alfred, I-… I am sorry. I just... Hey, you don't have to impress me, you know. It's fine if you're just being you. That's fine with me." He nodded as to confirm what he'd just said. Then he leaned up and pecked Alfred's cheek. "Thanks for thinking of me." Alfred's cheeks darkened, and he cleared his throat loudly, speeding the car a little up.
"Uh, yeah, that, uh… Just… don't worry about it," he mumbled. Arthur smiled sweetly.
"Okay…" He let go of a little sigh in relief and flopped back into the seat, closing his eyes. Alfred watched him more than he watched the road.
'Fuck, did all 'e blood just run to my groin? I think so!' Alfred bit down onto his lower lips, took in a deep breath and tried to focus on the road. 'It's like a freaking movie, dude. Am I going to turn all grown-up now? …nah, but still!' It wasn't like he had never been told he was a cool person - hell, people would tell him so every day! But those same people would also cheer him on whenever he spent his money on something ridiculous. Like a suit by some stuck-up designer. And they would sit drooling for him to take off his clothes and fuck the night away on the car's backseat as soon as they saw it.
But Arthur seemed to find the car too fancy, the suit too expensive. And he surely wasn't the type to demand him stripping down. But still he was gay. Alfred were used to all the homos being wild animals, going up against society, dancing the night away with a needle in their arm and a craving for sex in their eyes. Arthur was working at his dad's boring company and wearing underwear. 'It's like a life-lesson!' it occurred to him. 'Should I tell Arthur?' He turned to do so, but doing so his eyes caught a glimpse of the sign outside the window. 'The Japanese Garden'. They were at the restaurant. Life had to wait.
"Hey, Arthur, we're here."
"Already?" He opened his eyes and blinked a few times. "Think I dozed off a little…" Alfred snickered and turned the car, driving into the parking lot.
"Sleep when you're dead," Alfred grinned. Arthur clicked his belt open. Alfred grabbed his jacket, holding him back.
"What?"
"We're to dine at a place with hundreds of others. You probably won't kiss me in there if my life depended on it. So come on, a small lip-peck out here?" Arthur looked at him as if he were mad. Alfred raised his eyebrows in order to look too cute to turn down. Apparently he succeeded.
"Greedy child," Arthur muttered, but his lips had curved up into a smile. He leaned in and shortly allowed his lips to meet with Alfred's.
He should have been expecting what came next -
Alfred grabbed the back of his head, practically forcing their lips together in a passionate kiss. Arthur shut his eyes tight and pressed his hands to Alfred's chest in order to free himself, but somehow he ended up slipping them around him instead, and something made him moan slightly and invite Alfred's tongue to keep his company and somewhere it all felt very good. Until a horn started honking and someone shouted: 'Get in or get out!' Alfred let go of Arthur with a sigh as he drove all the way in to the parking lot, getting them a free spot. 'For fucks sake, such faggots… That was my spot!'
"Hey, mind your fucking language, dude!" Alfred yelled, showing the man his middle finger. Arthur sank down deep into the seat, hissing:
"Keep it down, Alfred! You never know what kind of man you might be dealing with!"
"But he said faggots," Alfred tried to explain, but Arthur shook his head violently with an annoyed look.
"I don't care! Let him. We got out spot, let's get in, okay?"
"Whatever." Alfred turned the motor off and got out of the car, still not looking satisfied as his eyes wandered, trying to find the man that had yelled. Arthur couldn't think of a worse way to start a date if he ended up in some fight, so he quickly got out himself, tapping on the roof to get Alfred's attention. "Wow, don't ruin it, Arthur."
"Better the car than you - stop staring at him. Come on." As Alfred still didn't move, Arthur got over and got a hold of his jacket, pulling him along. "What's with you? Do you always react at such stupidity?"
"If I don't I'm the one who looks stupid," Alfred explained, finally following Arthur with his hands in the pockets of the jacket. He shrugged his shoulders, as he couldn't see why the other was so upset. "I mean, if someone came over to you when you were just minding your own business, like, I don't know… Reading the newspaper or such. And that someone then went: 'Hey, pussy, get outta mah spot!' - what would you do?"
"If that someone had more muscles than me, I would be running for my dear life."
"That's pathetic," Alfred snorted.
"No, it's surviving."
"But do you support such?" he asked, sending Arthur a rather odd look. Arthur raised his brows.
"Support what?"
"Letting the stronger in society suppress the weaker?" Arthur blinked.
"That's not exactly how I would think of it…"
"But that's what it is!" Alfred nodded insistently. "That's what it is, Arthur. Suppression of the weakest. And that's wrong!"
"But if I stood up to such a man, I would get smashed into the bloody ground, Alfred. You do realise that, don't you?"
"Maybe, but at least you won't look stupid."
"I will if I show up at work with a broken nose." Alfred laughed at the thought.
"Maybe it would add to your sex-appeal!"
"And maybe not, eh?" Arthur grinned back at him. Alfred suddenly gave his shoulder a hard clap, making him trip slightly forward.
"Hey! Know what? We just had our first discussion!" he beamed. Arthur stroked his shoulder with a little smile.
"Yeah, I guess…"
----
"Matthew normally loves this spot. He's such a sucker for a good view." Alfred leaned forward in his chair, taking in the view of the garden outside the window. Arthur and he was placed in a comfortable corner of the restaurant, and with only a few other tables occupied at the time of the day, they could speak in private. Arthur greatly appreciated that, smiling and seeming to relax completely for once.
"Oh, you come here often?" he asked, following Alfred's gaze to the garden. The nicely trimmed bushes and the running water and the birds. He liked it.
"Yeah, well, we come around a lot. Or used to. Since I moved from home I'm more likely to turn down my dad's crazy eating-out-ideas."
"I thought you said he cooked?"
"Yeah, but it's like, we go to a restaurant, eat, and then he goes all: 'I could do this better!' or: 'I'll have to go see the cook!' - and he just walks straight into the kitchen and starts cooking. It used to be a laugh, now it's somewhat embarrassing, showing off all the time." Alfred scratched his neck, looking away. "It's much more comfortable around my home, no one have to show of. We're the same." Arthur peeled his glass of white wine closer, not looking convinced.
"Not showing off? I've seen the clubs, and if men dancing around in dresses and women running around naked aren't looking for attention, I don't know what is." He took a sip of the wine. Alfred rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, well, you've got it all wrong. That's just life. When a man takes on a dress, it's not for attention, it's because he likes it."
"But you said you drove that car for attention?"
"Oh, I am an attention-whore, don't doubt that!" Alfred laughed, making Arthur gag on his wine.
"Whore," he repeated with a hoarse voice, just as a man showed up by his side.
"Excuse me?" The waiter raised his brow at Arthur who turned bright red, shaking his head.
"Oh, no, no! Not you!" he stuttered. The man just sat down a plate in front of him.
"Your meal, sir," he turned to Alfred and served him his, "I hope you'll enjoy your dinner." He quickly bowed and disappeared. Arthur made a face of embarrassment.
"Hell, you could've told me he was there," he grumbled at the chuckling Alfred.
"Nah, this is more fun." He leaned in closer to the table as he started eating. Carefully. Small slices of meat, lots of chewing, no talking with food in mouth. Arthur found himself watching Alfred warily.
'What did I expect? That he was going to be as sloppy with his food as with the sex? If he has grown up with Francis, he probably has learned all those manners from him anyway… Such get stuck…'
Alfred was noticing the other's gazing. He smiled a little, raised his glass of wine and winked at him. Arthur felt a blush creep across his cheeks ('he saw me staring') and hastily grabbed his fork, getting started on his plate.
"So," Alfred tilted his head a little, taking in the look of Arthur, "I'm still not even sure about how you're settled. With family and all. You never had a wife, right? That was just a cover?" Arthur shook his head, putting down the fork.
"No, I did have a wife a few years back. But it didn't work out."
"Why not?"
"Well…" Arthur leaned back into the chair, throwing looks out of the window. He wasn't too keen on having Alfred's eyes locking with his when telling his stories. It made him feel silly and dumb. Such a young lad. Could he even understand? "Well, she wasn't stupid. She quickly picked up on some of the signs of me being… yeah…" He played with a lock of hair, fiddling it behind his ear. "But we kept together for a while. Especially as she got pregnant."
"You're a daddy?!" Arthur sent Alfred a sad smile.
"No. It wasn't with me." Alfred's eyes widened.
"…oh…"
"And she miscarried." They both went quiet. Alfred looked down with wrinkled brows as if he tried to figure out what to say. Arthur took a sip of his wine.
"…well, that sucks."
"It surely didn't make any of us happy. It's still…" He took in a deep breath, narrowing his eyes a little. "It still hurts to think about. But sometimes I think I must be the worst man on Earth, for… I somehow believe it was for the better." He looked at Alfred, but only shortly, he quickly lowered his gaze with guilt stuck in his throat. "I-I mean… I would have loved the child… No matter what. That it belonged to someone else, well, that wasn't the child's fault, right? So I would've loved it, treated it as my own… But what lessons would I have taught it? It would've picked up on my sexuality at some point, just like my wife… What would it had thought? What would that had taught it? That it's normal to lie, hide one's needs and lusts? It would've been a broken down family. No doubt." He took in a couple of deep breaths. Alfred leaned in closer as he tried to catch his gaze.
"Did that, uhm… Did that drive you apart?"
"It did. We were emotionally hurt. She got a depression and I started drinking." Arthur tapped at his wineglass with an ironic smile crossing his shaking lips. "It almost got too much, but I stopped just in time. I'm no recovering alcoholic or such. But I do have to give it a second thought sometimes. I'm still lucky, though, getting out of such a situation with no showing scars."
"Still…" Alfred bit down onto his lower lip. "Sounds really hard. I'm so sorry that-"
"Don't be," Arthur interrupted him, reaching over and taking a hold of Alfred's hesitating hand. His gaze locked with his. "Don't. It's in the past for me. It's eight years ago. I wasn't living my life back then. I was trying to live hers. Do you understand that?" Alfred slowly closed his fingers around Arthur's hand, and he nodded, a smile taking over his lips.
"Yeah, I understand."
"Good."
"Good." They let go of each other, returning to their meals with pondering looks. A few minutes passed without neither of them spoke. It made Arthur snicker and shook his head in defeat.
"Rotten start on a new relationship, isn't it?" he asked, but to his surprise Alfred was quick to tell him otherwise.
"Not at all. I think it's great, it's the best start I've ever had." Arthur looked at him for any signs of lying, but the other's eyes were open, honest. It made his heart skip a beat.
"O-oh… How do your dates normally go?"
"I hardly come to the dating part. I meet someone nice-looking, and we go have sex.
"Anywhere?"
"Anywhere." Arthur straightened up in his back, a glimpse of challenge showing in his eyes.
"If you were to shag someone in here, where would you do it?" Alfred's lips stretched into a big, humoured smile.
"Honestly? Uhm, let's see…" He threw a look around, carefully taking in the place. "Of course there's the bathroom. They have stalls here, it's easy to get around a quick fuck at such place. The garden is pretty cool too. At the right time of the day, the trees will shadow your bodies if you're by the small lake out there," he pointed with his thumb, "so you could get it on unseen. Else, there's the great room upstairs. It's used for special occasions and parties and such. So normally it's empty. There's a great chair, green, good to take a ride in I guess."
As Alfred explained, Arthur listened amazed and intrigued by the fact that the other could point out the perfect spots so easily. The bloke could probably walk into any place, the most crowded room on Earth, and still find somewhere were no one would be looking as he flashed his lower regions. He probably shouldn't find it as arousing as he did.
"- for the waiter doesn't go there unless they have break. And they don't often, for -"
'He can just go on and on. Weird. He's a gentleman in here, can behave, but if he wants to, he goes outside, fucks a lad and punch whoever laughs at him for doing so! It's somewhat marvellous. I bet he's hardly ever bored.'
"Okay, Alfred, I get the picture," he stopped him with laughter. Alfred grabbed his wine and mumbled:
"You asked for it, kid," before he emptied the glass. Arthur sloped his head to the side.
"What was your last name again?"
"Jones."
"Jones…" Arthur tapped his fingers at the table. "Jones… But your brother's last name is Bonnefoy? How come you haven't taken on your dad's name?"
"I did, but I changed it," Alfred explained, poking to a potato with his fork, "I used to be Alfred Bonnefoy, but as dad's company got more and more successful, we figured it was best if his clients didn't link his name with my wild lifestyle. He started running the place seriously for about five years ago. I'd moved out at that time, as I wanted to live at the place where the good stuff happens, y'know. And he called me and asked
me if that would be okay - the name change, that is. And I just went along with it." He shrugged his shoulders and smiled brightly.
"So you really don't mind?"
"I'm rich - why should I care about a name?"
"I don't see the connection between those two, but sure." Arthur took in a bite of his pork.
"Matthew's last name actually isn't Bonnefoy either."
"What? It isn't?"
"Well, it is officially," Alfred narrowed his eyes and looked smugly, as if he was going to crack a secret to the other, "but among everyone but daddy and the company, he's known as Matthew Williams. He just doesn't want our dad to know, for if you look up that name, you get quite some stories!" Arthur couldn't help but admit he was interested. He leaned in.
"…what stories?"
"Ooh," Alfred grinned, likewise leaning closely in to Arthur, "ooh, like how he's quite the ladies' man. He's a spoiled brat, that's what he is. I mean, I surely am too, but I get around the normal people. He doesn't. He sticks to the upper class. There's this girl from Ukraine who he's been dating for a while now. He can't even remember her name, he just likes her boobs!" Alfred and Arthur broke down into a series of girly snickering. "Like, they're so huge!" Alfred whispered with eager, showing the other the size by holding out his hands. Arthur gasped in air and clasped a hand over his mouth to keep down his laughter, and Alfred keeping on with the story didn't help much either! "So one day, I go visit his house, right? And it seems there's nobody there, so I enter, for the door's open. I hear some sounds. I think: 'Oh, he's just watching porn again,' so I go to surprise him -"
"You didn't," Arthur hissed, but his eyes weren't showing disgust, more glee by the fact. Alfred nodded.
"I did, of course!" he answered in a low voice, "and I saw them, there, in the living room in front of the fire. She was naked, on the floor, he was over her, only in a shirt. He was going: 'Oh, Eli, Eli!', and she kept correcting him: 'My name's Katherine, Katherine.'" They both laughed out loud. Arthur threw his head back and wiped off the tears from the corner of his eyes.
"How clumsy!" he hiccupped.
"That's Matthew!"
"And he seemed so arrogant and stuck-up, but he's actually -"
"- an idiot!"
"…Alfred." Arthur and Alfred looked up as someone third spoke up. A small man with straight, black hair and dark eyes were standing beside their table. Arthur had seen him before, only knew him as the owner, but Alfred was quickly up and hugging the man.
"Kiku! Great seeing you again, man!" he smiled, giving his shoulders a pat before sitting back down. "How are you?"
"Fine, fine…" he nodded, looking more at Arthur than at Alfred. "…So, who is this?"
"Oh, sorry, this is Arthur, he's my date," Alfred chirped without further thinking. Arthur's face heated up, but he managed to shake hands with Kiku and smile nicely anyway.
"Nice to meet you."
"Hmm…" Kiku was looking - no, glaring - at him with rather unfriendly eyes. "Arthur… So… Is this the one you said ran from your apartment as you called me up?" Alfred smiled apologizing and scratched the back of his neck with a pained look.
"Yeah, it… It's him."
"Hmm…" Kiku eyes Arthur one last time, before bowing for Alfred. "It was nice seeing you again. I'll be going, I have my duties. Let this lunch be on me, please."
"Oh, thanks, Kiku!" Alfred watched Kiku slowly disappearing though a door. Arthur turned to Alfred with a worried look.
"…He doesn't seem to like me?" Alfred sank a mouthful of spit.
"Uh, maybe…"
"Alfred, what's up?"
"Hey, lunch's on him - how about we get going, eh?" They'd hardly eaten anything, but during their talk the food had gotten cold anyway. Arthur nodded slightly, and they both got up.
----
"He's in love with me," Alfred explained as they were leaving the restaurant behind, going for the car. Arthur sent him a raised brow.
"In love?"
"Yeah…"
"What was that about the night when I ran?" Alfred looked at the ground.
"Uhm, I kinda called him up…"
"For what? …A shag?"
"…Maybe?"
"For Heaven's sake!" Arthur rolled his eyes and plunged his hands deep into his pockets of the trousers. "No doubt he was sending me such a stare."
"You aren't mad, are you?" Alfred was sending him a worried look. "Oh, it was just going so well! Don't be mad."
"I'm not mad, why should I care about who you've been in bed with?" Arthur mumbled, kicking a stone across the ground. "As long as you don't -"
"I don't. Not while we're dating, okay?" Arthur sent him a suspicious look. Alfred sighed and slipped his arm around his shoulders.
"Hey, cut me some slack, all right? I'm a fine guy. I do my best to be so anyway. I've dated before. Only for a short period of time, but that was because there was no connection. I am no cheater. I promise. I didn't fuck around while I was with them." Arthur leaned a little in to Alfred's embrace.
"…Okay then. Sorry."
"Yeah, yeah, I - what the fuck?!" Alfred let go of the puzzled Arthur as he ran to his car. Arthur's eyes widened as he realised what was the cause of the other's reaction; across the back of the car, someone has scratched 'Fags' in the car's paintwork. "For fucks sake! I knew it, it's him, Arthur, it's the guy! I knew I should've ripped those teeth from his mouth!" Alfred's fingers slipped across the word with bitterness showing all over his face. "This ain't fair, just ain't…" Arthur slowly approached him, leaning a little forward to take in the damage.
"It shouldn't bee to hard to get fixed," he said, but Alfred's stern look didn't confirm his words.
"That's not what this is about. It's the fact that he's running around laughing his ass off now, and I've lost. Completely." He straightened up and shook his head with a small sigh. "Damn it." He peeled out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it and inhaled deeply. It seemed to calm him down immediately. He took a few steps back and forth, concentrating on the cigarette and nothing else, and then he nodded slowly. "Okay, I'm good now." Arthur pouted slightly and looked away, not sure what kind of reaction was expected from him.
"Oh, good…?" Alfred nodded.
"Yeah." He dropped the smoke to the ground before opening the car. "Let's get going," he said, getting in on the front seat, "I don't want the day completely ruined."
"Sure." Arthur followed, once again taking a seat next to him, though he seemed a little scrupled. Alfred wasn't going to blame him for the damages of the car, was he? He watched the other closely as he started the motor, preparing to leave the parking. He grabbed the sunglasses, was about to put them on as he noticed Arthur's gaze.
"…What?"
"You're okay with the car, right?"
"No, but what can I do now?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders with a slight annoying tone in his voice, "he's gone."
"Yeah, sorry about that." Arthur closed his seatbelt. The car didn't move. He turned to look at Alfred.
"Sorry?" Alfred was blinking at him with confused eyes. "It's not like it's your fault he was a jerk."
"True, true, still."
"Like I said - you worry too much." Alfred leaned in and pressed a small kiss to his ear. "Hey, where do you wanna go next?" he asked. Arthur closed his eyes ponderingly. Misunderstanding his actions, Alfred snickered and grazed his teeth over his earlobe. "Oh, you wanna go do that?" Arthur's face went tomato-red, and he grabbed around Alfred's chin, slowly shaking his head from side to side.
"No, and neither do you at this time of day, Alfred," he grimaced, "what kind of fun things do you normally do?"
"Hey, can I go see your place?" Arthur's eyes widened at the other's odd suggestion. He opened his mouth, closed it again, narrowed his eyes. Wasn't sure what he wanted to answer. He was still holding the other's chin, pressing his cheeks a little together, which gave Alfred the mouth of a fish. "Please?" The lips hardly moved as he said it. Arthur smiled and gave them a little kiss, before he let go of the other.
"Why would you want to go there?"
"You know how I live - I wanna know how you live," Alfred said with an obvious tone.
"Yeah, but… It's nothing special, really," the other tried, scratching his arm shyly. "Besides, it's out date. We're supposed to do fun stuff."
"But we're also supposed to learn a lot about each other, right?" Alfred sent him the grin of a winner. "And I'll learn lots about you from seeing your home!" Arthur nodded painfully.
"Okay then…"
"Great!" Alfred pulled out of the parking lot. "Show me the way!" He sent the other a pair of excited eyes. Arthur tried to match the other's mood with a smile. But on the inside he was dying.
'My unicorn collection, my magic, my ghosts, my everything… Oh dear god, you're not supposed to show that to a guy you've only just met!'